1998 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

The 1998 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented the Georgia Southern University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Paul Johnson, the Eagles compiled and overall record of 14–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Georgia Southern advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Colgate in the first round, Connecticut in the quarterfinals, and Western Illinois in the semifinals before falling to UMass in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.

1998 Georgia Southern Eagles football
SoCon champion
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 2
Record14–1 (8–0 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Sewak (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorRusty Russell (2nd season)
Home stadiumPaulson Stadium
Seasons
← 1997
1999 →
1998 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Georgia Southern $^   8 0     14 1  
No. 6 Appalachian State ^   6 2     10 3  
Western Carolina   5 3     6 5  
Chattanooga   4 4     5 6  
The Citadel   4 4     5 6  
East Tennessee State   3 5     4 7  
Wofford   3 5     4 7  
Furman   3 5     5 6  
VMI   0 8     1 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5Elon*No. 6W 31–1713,233
September 12Jacksonville State*No. 6
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 51–3210,803
September 19WoffordNo. 3
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 45–108,649
September 2612:00 pmat ChattanoogaNo. 3W 42–256,574
October 31:00 pmVMINo. 3
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 63–79,687
October 10at Western CarolinaNo. 2W 28–219,671
October 17No. 3 Appalachian StateNo. 2
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 37–2420,353[1]
October 24at The CitadelNo. 1W 51–3414,222
October 31East Tennessee StateNo. 1
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 47–2615,189
November 7at FurmanNo. 1W 45–1710,201[2]
November 141:00 pmNo. 19 South Florida*No. 1
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 28–2314,161
November 28Colgate*No. 1
W 49–287,676[3]
December 5No. 8 Connecticut*No. 1
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)
W 52–309,762
December 12No. 4 Western Illinois*No. 1
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)
W 42–1411,140[4]
December 192:00 pmat No. 12 UMass*No. 1L 43–5517,501

[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Ga. Southern rolls on". The Atlanta Constitution. October 18, 1998. Retrieved November 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Furman gets pounded by Ga, Southern". The State. November 8, 1998. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Reese, Earnest (November 29, 1998). "Eagles Speed Up, Roll". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, Ga. p. E9 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Reese, Earnest (December 13, 1998). "Eagles win 42-14, arrive at I-AA final". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D23. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1998 Football Schedule". CFBDataWarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.